It’s pretty simple, really. I learned all 87 rules in the NHL 2009 – 2010 rulebook in 107 days leading up to the Winter Olympics on February 12, 2010. Since then I've covered the entire IIHF Rulebook and I'm now up to the NHLPA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Sure, I tried finding non-hockey related hobbies, but it's hard to find book clubs that want to read every hockey book ever written.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Things you didn't know you didn't know about hockey

The game: Spokane Chiefs 4, Portland Winterhawks 3 (WHL). Apparently, operation we'll show up around the middle of the third period is still in effect for the Hawks.

Other than that, here is what I learned: I had two Australians sitting next to me who had never watched a hockey game. Of all the people to sit next to, they picked me. Oh, the irony. They asked me "now, you can explain this game to us, right? And I thought I could, until they hit me with a few choice bits I had to go look up. But I got a few right without assistance. So in case you need small talk for your next office party:

What's on the scoreboard?: The score of each team, the period, the shots on goal, the saves and the player and his penalty time left.

So, the ref just decides to stop play so they can fix the ice? The ref decides everything.

Do they have other events in this building? Yes. How long does it take to melt the ice? Dude, I didn't major in physics.

How thick does the ice have to be? At least two inches.

How long does it take to make the ice? It took master NHL icemaker Dan Craig and his crew one week to set up, paint and properly freeze Heinz Field for the Winter Classic.

Why did they hold the face off on that circle? Because it's held on the face off spot closest to the penalty or the stoppage of play (e.g. goalie catching a shot in midair).

That is what I know. As for why we lost to Spokane, no clue, but you can read all about my attempt here: www.oregonlive.com/hawks.

About Me

I’m Samantha and I’m a hockey addict. It wasn’t always this way. Until I was 12, I’d never even seen a hockey game. I grew up in Arizona, before the Phoenix Coyotes, in the pre-historic era known as the seventies. Enter the eighties, which coincided with the sports event of the century. On February 22, 1980, the United States men’s hockey team defeated the Russians. I was a pre-teen, oblivious to what that game meant, until it interfered in my ability to hang out at the mall. My father had agreed to chauffeur me…after he was done watching the game. I stomped to my room in rebellion. But somewhere in the first period the yelling and stomping overpowered my REO Speedwagon record. So, I relented and the rest is history. As we approach the 30th anniversary of that victory, I have shamefully come to realize I love a game to which I don’t know the rules. 30 years and I don’t even know what a hat trick is -- unacceptable. That, fellow hockey nerds, is coming to an end with this blog.